Hallelujah
by NicholeRose
Summary: A collection of small ficlets, all containing bits and pieces of the song Hallelujah by Rufus Wainwright. Most will contain Akito. Three ficlets now. Please R
1. Your Faith Was Strong

**Well, your faith was strong but you needed proof.  
You saw her bathing on the roof. **

Ever since that dream, Shigure was sure that he was in love with his goddess. But he wanted proof. He wanted that baby to be born. He wanted to see her and feel as if he were consumed by fire. He wanted it to be love at first sight.

And now he heard the wail of a baby from outside of Ren-san's and Akira-san's room. He rushed in without permission, and wasn't sure if it was him or his spirit that wished to see the baby so much. He waited politely at the door, but it absolutely killed him to have to wait to hold the child. Hatori, Kureno, and Ayame stood behind him. Akira took the infant from Hatori's father, as Ren had refused to hold the child. Akira motioned for the four boys to come over to him. Shigure nearly sprinted the short distance. But he managed to be respectful and walk slowly. His hands shook as he stared longingly as that beautiful little baby. The others seemed just as restless, and six-year-old Kureno walked much faster than the rest of them, as he wasn't as familiar with all the rules of reverence. Not that Akira minded. Nobody seemed to mind the fact that it was dark in the room, either. It was almost midnight, and a cloud blocked the moon. No lights were on and so it was difficult to see.

It seemed like an eternity before the group of kids finally gathered around Akira. Shigure crossed his fingers, hoping and praying he'd get to hold the child first. She was bundled up in a blue blanket, and for a moment a wave of revulsion washed over the eight-year-old. They already knew that Akito would be raised a boy, despite the fact that she was a girl. He refrained from shaking his head, and let out breath he didn't know he was holding when Akira set Akito in his arms.

Shigure smiled and played with the infant's hair. Already she had a lot of it on her head, even though she was a newborn. She let out a coo.

"His name is Akito," Akira told Shigure.

"Akito," Shigure whispered, over and over again in her ear. "We've been waiting a long time for you. Akito…"

Hatori reached for the baby, and at that exact moment, a cloud moved and a shaft of moonlight moved in to reveal the child smiling at Shigure.

"I love you," he breathed, watching her with large eyes.

It wasn't his zodiac spirit talking.

_**Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you.**_


	2. I Heard There Was A Secret Chord

**I heard there was a secret chord **

**that David played and it pleased the Lord,  
but you don't really care for music, do you?**

The three-year-old Akito was laying on her bed. Her father was tucking her in, despite her mother's protests that he should come to bed and sleep.

"Father," the child chirped, pulling at the collar of her boy's yukata in slight irritation.

"What is it?" Akira asked his daughter who was masquerading as a boy.

She tilted her head to the side and stared at him inquiringly. "Why don't you ever sing to me? You tell me stories, like Shigure does, but you don't sing to me like Kureno," she said.

"Ah, I don't like singing very much," Akira told the girl. "I don't sound very good, especially when I'm sick," he added in his hoarse voice that would probably be very smooth and pretty if it weren't for constant sickness.

**Well it goes like this: the fourth, the fifth,  
the minor fall and the major lift;**

"Besides, the only good music is birdsong."

The toddler tried to take this in, and managed to understand, nodding. "Do you like Kureno's singing?" She asked him.

He smiled. "He's a bird, is he not? I leave it to the birds to sing. They enjoy it."

Akito nodded slowly. "Can't you just sing for me once?" She asked quietly. "Because I don't mind if you're not a bird. I want to hear you sing."

Akira chuckled a bit and nodded, smiling at her. "I'll sing if you promise to go to sleep."

Akito smiled a little at him, and turned so she was laying on her stomach, staring at her beloved father intently. He started singing. Though his voice was hoarse and cracked in places, she loved it anyway, and despite that, she knew if he weren't as sick, his voice would be smooth, low, and have the most… amazing tone. She sang along with him quietly when he began the chorus to the haunting song.

"…Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah…"****

…the baffled king composing Hallelujah.


	3. Maybe I've Been Here Before

**Maybe I have been here before, **

**I know this room; I have walked this floor. **

**I used to live alone before I knew you.**

It was disgusting.

That's all he could think. It was disgusting. And horrible. He'd accidentally walked in. He hadn't made a sound.

But seeing Akito with Kureno, that d**n Sparrow, _it just didn't work_!

Seeing their naked bodies entangled with each other, it was just horrible. Something he couldn't handle. He hated it. What had pushed her do something like this?!

Was he not good enough?

Was Kureno better than him?

Did Akito just… not want him anymore? The very thought was a nightmare. He closed the door without a sound.

Fine. She wanted to play it that way? He would, too. He would bide his time, then he would get back at her. Crush her. Force her to come crawling back to him like the pathetic child she was.

_**I've seen your flag on the marble arch, **_

_**love is not a victory march, it's a cold and it's a broken**_

_**HALLELUJAH.**_


	4. She Tied You To A Kitchen Chair

**She tied you to a kitchen chair, **

**She broke your throne, she cut your hair.**

Akito wasn't sure what she had been thinking. She didn't understand why Mother didn't want her to dress the way she was supposed to.

But she wanted to _be a girl_ for once! And so she'd snuck into her Mother's room while the woman was away and began rummaging through the closet and the vanity, piling jewelry on herself, careful not to break anything, and playing with make-up.

This was an especially good time to try it, the six year old figured, since her hair had grown a bit. A haircut was needed, she knew. But right now, she just wanted to see what she would look like if she looked like a girl for once.

She hadn't expected the door to open and for her mother to enter. Upon seeing her, Ren shut the door behind her and locked it, and a horrible beating followed, along with her hair getting cut shorter than it had ever been before.

**She tied you to a kitchen chair, **

**She broke your throne; she cut your hair…**

Afterward, she half dragged, half walked Akito to her room. Somehow, they ran into no servants. Reaching the room, Ren flung the bruised and even bloody child in. Akito stumbled and fell to the floor.

"I _never _want to see you try something like that again!"

The girl was silent as her mother locked the door from the inside before closing it, locking everyone out until one of the servants would think to get a key. Akito was in no condition to even stand at this point, after all, and would be unable to unlock the door herself. Oh yes, the child would be unconscious soon.

_Maybe, if I'm lucky, that child will die._

"Yes, Mother," Akito whispered before everything went black.

…_**And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah.**_


End file.
